Diverse issues send crude oil prices higher

Most metals prices retreated on Thursday. Only copper was higher among base metals, adding 0.1 percent to $7,430 per tonne on declines in London Metal Exchange stockpiles. Elsewhere, zinc prices were 1 percent lower to $3,640 per tonne, while nickel dropped 4.6 percent to $43,440 per tonne on LME lending rules changes that lower the limit at which long position holders must lend to the market. Among precious metals, gold dropped 0.2 percent to $668.25 per troy ounce on a stronger US dollar.

Crude oil prices were higher, with Brent crude for July delivery 56 cents higher to $71.58 per barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange. July contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.10 to $67.06 per barrel. In mid-afternoon trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, July gasoline was trading even at $2.19 per gallon after going as high as $2.23 earlier. Heating oil was also even at $1.98 per gallon, while natural gas had dropped 26 cents to $7.83 per million British thermal units. The latest US inventories numbers showed that stockpiles of natural gas were up by 110 billion cubic feet last week.

The gains in crude prices came after North Korea conducted a missile test and after a report, denied by Turkey, that Turkish troops were sent into northern Iraq to fight Kurdish rebels. Meanwhile, the president of OPEC once again blamed high prices on US demand and politics and said that crude supplies are sufficient. Also helping prices higher was news that Cyclone Gonu had disrupted oil exports from a port in Oman for the third day in a row and reports that Brazilian oil workers are threatening to strike.

Story link: Diverse issues send crude oil prices higher